THERE are mafias in almost every sector but the strongest amongst them indeed is in the sugar industry as it, whenever wants, forces people to buy the commodity at higher rates, citing various pretexts. The consumers are already perturbed over the price hike and now the recent substantial increase in the price of the sweetener which has touched one hundred and thirty rupees per kilogram amounts to rubbing more salt on the wounds of common man.
Taking notice of the situation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while chairing a meeting in Lahore approved a crackdown against those involved in the smuggling and hoarding of the commodities including the sugar. We do not doubt the intentions of the government but it will have to go beyond the lip service to save the poor consumers from the clutches of these hoarders and profiteers. Especially the issue of smuggling has emerged as a serious challenge and menace which needs to be tackled head on by enhancing security measures at border points. Earlier, the smuggling of dollars to Afghanistan drained our foreign exchange reserves and if this menace is not checked, the country would soon also face shortage of commodities which will then create serious national security issues. As regards the sugar mafia, it is really unfortunate that the government always succumbs to its pressure and allow the export of the commodity. Speaking in the National Assembly earlier this month, Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar said there is no shortage of the sweetener in the country, adding that 170 million metric tons of sugar has been exported to Afghanistan, Central Asian States and other countries and that the country has the capacity for its further export. Indeed we need to export the items that are in surplus but the fact of the matter is that the sugar industry always manipulates and presents wrong figures before the government. We saw the same during the PTI government and the same has happened now. The government must put in place a robust surveillance system to check the availability of commodities including the sugar. Then the local administration should be fully activated to ensure that these mafias do not fleece the consumers.
